Mr. Transmission: Warranty, Performance Check and Who Owns It

Mr. Transmission is a franchised transmission repair chain, and the shop you visit is almost always an independently owned business using the brand, its forms and its warranty, often alongside the Milex Complete Auto Care name. That decides who diagnoses the car, who sets the price and who stands behind the repair. On 16 October 2026 we read Mr. Transmission’s warranty, Performance Check, diagnostics, repair, towing, customer-service, About and franchise pages and its store locator; Milex’s copy of the same warranty; the franchise disclosure document (FDD) Moran Family of Brands, LLC issued on April 29, 2026, with its audited accounts, from Minnesota’s registry; and two federal court opinions. This site has no commercial relationship with Mr. Transmission or any repair chain.

Who owns Mr. Transmission

The franchisor is Moran Family of Brands, LLC, “the franchisor (formerly known as Moran Industries, Inc.),” in the FDD’s words. It was “first incorporated on July 27, 1990,” and “In November 2025, Moran (formerly Moran Industries, Inc.) converted from an Illinois corporation to an Illinois limited liability company and changed its name to Moran Family of Brands, LLC.” The audited notes add that on November 5, 2025 the shareholders “contributed their common stock to the sole member of Moran.”

Above it sit two new holding companies: “Moran is a subsidiary of Automotive Franchise Brands, Inc. (“AFB”), a Nevada corporation incorporated in October 2025,” and “AFB is a wholly owned subsidiary of Legacy Brands, Inc. (“LB”), a Nevada corporation incorporated in October 2025.” Both share Moran’s address and have never offered franchises. The FDD does not say who owns Legacy Brands, so we cannot tell you. Item 2 names Barbara Moran-Goodrich, one of Moran’s co-founders, as chief executive officer.

The brand is older than the company: “We or our predecessors have operated Centers since 1962 under the trade name “Mr. Transmission” or other trade names and have franchised these Centers since 1970,” which makes the name 64 years old by our arithmetic. A 2010 federal court opinion records that Mr. Transmission, Inc. assigned its franchise agreements to Moran on August 14, 1990.

Moran has also grown into Canada. On December 3, 2025 it “acquired 100% of the outstanding shares in Responsive Brands ULC,” whose predecessor “began offering franchises in Canada in 1967,” adding “fifty-eight (58) Mr. Transmission franchised locations in Canada.” This page covers the U.S. system.

One common assumption is wrong: Mr. Transmission is not part of Driven Brands. Driven Brands’ 2025 annual report, read for our Meineke page, lists its franchise brands (Meineke, Maaco, CARSTAR and others) without it. Our AAMCO page covers a different transmission chain with its own owner and warranty.

Mr. Transmission, Milex and the other names on the sign

Moran sells three kinds of franchise under this FDD: a Mr. Transmission center for “the repair, service, and installation of automobile transmissions and related components,” a Milex Complete Auto Care center for maintenance and general repair, and “a Co-Branded Mr. Transmission business and Milex Complete Auto Care business.” Moran acquired the rights to the Milex Tune-Up and Brakes name in November 1997, along with 14 franchised centers, and markets the pairing as “Milex Complete Auto Care, Powered by Mr. Transmission.”

Two older names survive on some signs. Moran “previously offered franchises under the trade names “Dr. Nick’s Transmissions” and “Multistate Transmissions” but we no longer offer new franchises under these marks,” though existing owners may keep them. The system behind the sign is the same: Milex’s website prints the same “Repair Brands General Warranty,” with the same seven categories, 50-mile rule and arbitration clause.

The locator shows 40 fewer U.S. locations than the FDD by our arithmetic. The dates differ and the FDD does not say whether a co-branded center counts once, so we report both without explaining the gap. The locator’s largest states are Georgia (9), Alabama (7) and Texas (7); it lists a store in Oregon and one in Idaho, where the FDD showed no franchised outlet at the end of 2025, and none in Colorado, Connecticut, Iowa or Maryland, where the FDD did. Call to confirm a shop is still in the system. By our arithmetic franchised U.S. outlets fell by 12 from the start of 2023 to the end of 2025: 8 opened and 17 left.

The free Performance Check, and what comes after it

Diagnosis starts with what Mr. Transmission calls a Performance Check: “we offer our customers a free Performance Check to help diagnose any problems with your vehicle’s transmission. Our comprehensive Performance Check consists of a fluid check, road test, check for any trouble codes, and bay inspection.” As the page describes them:

• Fluid check. “A transmission in good condition will have a clear, red fluid”; an odor or discoloration plus other symptoms can point to an internal inspection.
• Road test. “The road test is made up of 2 parts: a stationary test and a driving test,” looking for slipping, harsh, soft or erratic shifts and late or early shift patterns.
• Bay inspection. Linkage, engine and transmission mounts, U-joints and axles, leaks, electronic components, sensors, switches and solenoids.
• Trouble codes stored by the onboard diagnostic system.

The check ends in one of four recommendations: preventive maintenance (the maintenance page offers anything from a fluid and filter exchange to a flush; our page on drain-and-fill versus flush weighs the two), an external adjustment or repair, a reseal (the transmission comes out to replace leaking external seals, for units “which have no other internal problems”), or an internal inspection. That last one is a big step: “This inspection consists of the removal of your transmission and dis-assembly of the unit in order to view all internal parts,” after which you get “a report of those items that are in need of either repair or replacement, along with an estimate for those services.”

Two details deserve a question at the counter. The page’s own title is “Free Performance Check With Repair,” while its text and the About page call the check simply free, and no page says what you pay if you decline the repair. And no page prices the internal inspection, the removal and reassembly that go with it, or the separate Computer Diagnostics service, which the shop says follows “the same procedures the dealerships perform.” Ask before the car goes on a lift. If a warning light brought you in, our guides to the check engine light, signs of a failing transmission and torque converter faults help you describe the symptoms.

Estimates, approval and prices

The company’s pages promise paperwork before work. After a Performance Check, “If services are recommended, you’ll receive a written estimate before any work is performed,” and “You can choose whether to proceed with repairs.” The repair page says “After inspection, we provide a clear, written estimate before any work begins,” and the towing page says “You are never obligated to approve repairs.”

Prices are each shop’s own: the franchisee “shall have the sole right to determine the prices for resale to its patrons,” says the franchise agreement, and no national page prices any job. The only figure near one is aimed at would-be owners: a “$2,000+ average ticket price for major transmission repair” in the franchise sales pitch, which is not a quote for your car. Our transmission repair cost guide explains why no honest national figure exists, and its four repair routes section explains what a reseal, rebuild or replacement unit renews.

The paperwork is controlled. Each franchisee must use “only such repair order forms and sales invoice forms as are approved by the FRANCHISOR” and must show on them that the center “is independently owned and operated,” naming the business entity that runs it. That entity is who you contract with; our Precision Tune page reads another franchised chain the same way.

The repair order matters more here than at most chains, because the warranty is written on it. The warranty page says that “if a repair is completed and no warranty category is listed on the invoice/repair order, the repair will default to a maximum warranty period of three months or 3,000 miles, whichever occurs first, regardless of any other warranty terms stated on the repair order or invoice.” And if the repair order, invoice, estimate or Performance Check printout “are altered in any way whatsoever by any party all warranties and claims will be voided and unenforceable.” Check that the estimate names the route (adjustment, reseal, rebuild or a remanufactured unit) and that the repair order shows a category number.

The seven warranty categories

The whole warranty is on one page of mrtransmission.com, which says it “supersedes all previous materials, including but not limited to warranty cards, posters, or warranties written on repair orders, whether expressed or implied, 2026.” General terms apply to all seven categories, but where a category’s own terms differ, “the terms of that specific category will apply.” Federal rules expect a seller of a warranted consumer product costing more than $15.00 to make the warranty text available before the sale (16 CFR 702.3); here the published page helps, but the category on your repair order decides.

For a transmission, category 2 is the one that matters: it covers the transmission, clutch assembly, parts or repair on the repair order against “defects in materials, parts and workmanship,” and is “Not valid over 12 months or 12,000 miles whichever occurs first.” Whether you get 6 months or 12 is set on the repair order; the FAQ says length “may vary by location.” Air conditioning is similar: 3 months or 3,000 miles, then a 12-month cap, with nothing saying which applies. Ask.

The phrase “whichever occurs first” means each term ends at its earlier limit. Take a car driven 15,000 miles a year, a figure we picked only to illustrate. By our arithmetic the 3-month, 3,000-mile default ends at month 2.4; a 12-month, 12,000-mile major-repair warranty ends at month 9.6; and a 6-month major-repair warranty runs its full 6 months, by which time the car has covered 7,500 miles.

The page rules out a lifetime transmission warranty twice: “Extended Lifetime Transmission Warranties are NOT VALID and will not be honored no matter what,” and “No lifetime transmission warranty is offered or implied.” Oil changes get “no warranty or coverage of any kind.” The one lifetime term, on brake friction material, runs “for as long as you, the original purchaser, own the vehicle,” which states the life it refers to, as the FTC’s guide on lifetime claims (16 CFR 239.4) expects.

Category 4 needs care. The shop “reserves the right to install a remanufactured transmission or other component covered by a third-party warranty,” whose terms “take precedence over any franchise warranty.” You must follow that warranty’s “claim procedures, deductibles, coverage limits, and exclusions,” and you pay “all charges not covered or authorized by the third-party warranty,” from diagnostics and towing to shop supplies. Ask whose warranty comes with a remanufactured unit and for its terms; our guide to who owes you under a third-party warranty explains why the name on the contract matters.

Receipts, the 50-mile rule and what voids the warranty

The general terms put the original shop at the center of every claim: “This warranty and all liability remain the property of each independently owned and operated franchise center issuing said warranty. You the customer must contact the original repairing center for all approvals and authorizations regardless of reason.” If something fails, return the car to that center or, if you cannot, call it “for instructions before any actions or repairs are taken.”

The distance rule is specific. “The customer is required to return the vehicle to the original repairing center for all warranty inspections and repairs whenever the vehicle is located within 50 miles of that center.” Beyond 50 miles you still go back if the original shop is nearer than the next affiliated one; only when another affiliated center is closer, and also outside the radius, may the original center send you there, and it may instead arrange to bring the car back. The warranty is honored at licensed franchise centers or “preapproved affiliated centers ... within North America.”

Five things can end a claim before it starts:

• No receipt. “A valid receipt must be presented before any warranty repair or service is authorized”; without one the job is “a non-warranty repair,” and a receipt produced after the work is authorized or completed does not qualify.
• Someone else fixed it first. “Any unauthorized repairs being performed before proper authorization from the original repairing center will nullify and void the warranty and there will be no reimbursement.”
• You sold the car. The warranty covers only “the legal owner of the vehicle for whom the services were performed at the time of the original repair and is not transferable.”
• Altered paperwork, which voids “all warranties and claims.”
• A listed cause. Exclusions the page says “(any one of these can void your warranty)” include lack of coolant or lubricants, leaks or “cross-contamination from different fluids/lubricants,” an “unknown electrical problem,” “undisclosed improper repairs performed elsewhere,” racing, an over-weight trailer, off-road use, “not maintaining proper fluid levels or maintenance,” faulty “computer system components” and “customer supplied parts.”

A valid claim pays narrowly: “only the repair or replacement of eligible parts and the correction of covered workmanship,” not “loss of vehicle use,” rental cars, towing, lodging or lost wages. “Other parts, services and labor maybe required at an additional charge,” and “Any and all claims cannot exceed the total amount listed on the invoice/repair order.” The page concedes that some states “do not allow the exclusion or limitation of accidental or consequential damages,” so your state’s law may give you more.

Who stands behind the warranty, and what happens if a shop closes

The marketing and the contracts describe the warranty differently. The About page offers “a nationwide warranty that is honored by our franchisees across the country.” The franchise agreement says a warranty “is extended by FRANCHISEE to the customer and not by FRANCHISOR,” that “FRANCHISOR does not, nor shall it issue, any warranty to any customer of any Center,” and that Moran “has no duty to satisfy complaints made by any customer of any Center.” Your warranty is a promise from the franchisee that did the work.

Section 18 of the agreement makes it travel. Each franchisee “shall honor each warranty agreement presented by a customer at FRANCHISEE’S Center in accordance with the terms thereof, irrespective of whether the car part was originally repaired at FRANCHISEE’S Service Center or any other authorized Service Center.” The original shop must repay the repairing one “within twenty-four (24) hours after such demand,” and a new owner of a franchise must “honor all warranties issued by its predecessor.” Note “in accordance with the terms thereof”: the terms include the 50-mile rule, so the network mainly helps when you are far from home. A 2010 court opinion describes the same system: “Moran also maintains a national warranty program in which the franchisees are required to participate.”

There is a backstop. Each franchisee pays “Five Thousand Dollars ($5,000.00) to be held by FRANCHISOR in a warranty fund,” used for warranties a franchisee fails to honor and those of “any Center which has closed for any reason and not reopened.” A drawn-down deposit must be topped up within 10 days, failing to honor warranties is a ground for termination, and a franchisee that ceases trading stays liable “above and beyond the warranty fund.” The audited accounts show the fund in use: $31,000 reimbursed in 2023, $25,000 in 2024 and $6,175 in 2025, against $58,000, $39,000 and $38,257 collected, with $330,421 accrued at the end of 2025. They do not say how many claims that covered.

If your shop has closed, use the customer-service form; the warranty page says “All customer service inquiries must be submitted” through it. It asks for your vehicle, “Current Vehicle Mileage,” the “Invoice Number” and a repair-order upload, so keep them; we did not fill it in.

Claims, arbitration and the reviews clause

A dispute the shop and owner cannot settle “may be submitted to arbitration were permitted by applicable law,” under American Arbitration Association rules. A request “must be submitted in writing within 60 days after receiving written notice that the dispute could not be resolved,” costs “shall be shared equally (50/50) by the repairing center and the customer” unless your state forbids it, and no award “will exceed total face amount of total cost of original repair.” The clause says “may,” and the page separately says you “may also have other rights that vary by state or province”; whether it binds you is a question for a lawyer, but the 60-day clock is a reason to put any refusal in writing at once.

A section headed “Public Statements and Reviews” says “Customers retain the right to share honest opinions and experiences,” but that “knowingly publishing false statements of fact that are defamatory, libelous, or slanderous” may bring legal action. Federal law draws the same line. The Consumer Review Fairness Act, 15 U.S.C. 45b, voids a form-contract term that “prohibits or restricts the ability of an individual who is a party to the form contract to engage in a covered communication,” while leaving “any civil cause of action for defamation, libel, or slander” intact.

Outside complaints reach Moran too. Under section 35, each franchisee must “give notice to FRANCHISOR of any customer complaints made to any consumer agency, including, but not limited to, the Better Business Bureau, state or federal agencies,” and send Moran a copy of its answer.

Towing, offers and financing

The home page offers “Free towing on all major repairs” and the towing page “Free towing available on all major repairs!*” with an asterisk we found no note for. The warranty says “Towing is not included or covered under this warranty,” and towing given with the first repair is “a one-time courtesy” that “does not create or extend towing coverage for any future warranty claim.” If a covered part fails later, expect to pay for the tow.

The special-offers page lists “This Month’s Hot Offers” and points you to your local center “for Additional Promotions.” Offers change and vary by shop, so we do not record them. Neither mrtransmission.com nor the Milex site advertises customer financing on the pages we read: no store card and no financing link. If a shop offers credit, get the lender’s name and terms in writing.

What regulators and courts have recorded

Item 3 of the FDD says “No litigation information is required to be disclosed in this Item,” Item 4 says the same of bankruptcy, and the audited notes say management “is not aware of any claims or lawsuits that could materially affect the financial position” of the company. Searches on 16 October 2026 found no FTC or state attorney general action naming Moran, Mr. Transmission or Milex, which is not proof none exists. Two federal opinions on govinfo name the brand:

• Tennessee, 2010. Moran sued a former Chattanooga franchisee “for breach of a franchise agreement and for trademark infringement in violation of the Lanham Act.” On July 15, 2010 the court denied the franchisee’s motion to dismiss Moran’s claim for lost future royalties. It decides nothing about repairs.
• Illinois, 2014. A customer sued a company “doing business as Mr. Transmission” and its operator under 42 U.S.C. § 1981, adding Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Practices Act claims. The shop had run diagnostic tests “without charge”; the customer asserted that parts he was shown “were not from his transmission or vehicle,” a point the ruling did not decide. On January 14, 2014 the court granted the shop summary judgment on the federal claim and declined to rule on the state claims. No consumer-fraud finding was made either way, and Moran was not a party to that ruling.

Minnesota renewed and amended file 5012, still in the name “MORAN INDUSTRIES INC,” effective 06/01/2026. A separate application by Moran Family of Brands, LLC (file 11619) was withdrawn on 05/29/2026 after “no activity” for “a period of 120 days”; the order makes no finding about the company. In its Washington addendum Moran says it “has previously removed and does not include no-poach provisions in its franchise agreements” and offers “an assurance of discontinuance,” which “shall not be considered an admission of a violation.” The Better Business Bureau’s site blocked our reader, and we used no review sites.

Where Mr. Transmission’s own documents disagree

We recorded 13 places where the pages, filings and registry disagree or leave a gap. Those that matter to a customer:

• “Nationwide”: honored “across the country,” says the About page; within 50 miles you must return to the original shop, says the warranty.
• Who gives the warranty: “we offer a warranty,” says the services page; the franchisor “does not, nor shall it issue, any warranty,” says the franchise agreement.
• The free check: free in the text, “With Repair” in the title; the home page describes it as fluid levels, tire pressure and “a FREE code scan.”
• Terms: 6 or 12 months for a major repair and 3 or 12 for AC, with nothing saying which.
• Towing: free on major repairs in the ads, “not included or covered” under the warranty.
• The company: the Privacy Policy still names “Moran Industries, Inc., dba, Moran Family of Brands,” an Illinois corporation, and cites “our Terms of Use,” a page that answers “Page Not Found.”

For franchise buyers, the franchise web page trails the FDD: fees of $35,000 and $45,000 against $45,000 and $55,000, an investment from $197,457 against $267,500, and a $5,000 veterans’ discount against $6,750.

Our Honest-1 Auto Care page reads another franchised repair chain’s terms the same way.

Common questions

Who owns Mr. Transmission?

Moran Family of Brands, LLC of Orland Park, Illinois, formerly Moran Industries, Inc., an LLC since November 2025. The FDD says it is a subsidiary of Automotive Franchise Brands, Inc., wholly owned by Legacy Brands, Inc., both formed in Nevada in October 2025. It is not a Driven Brands company.

Are Mr. Transmission and Milex the same company?

Yes. Moran franchises both names and sells co-branded centers marketed as “Milex Complete Auto Care, Powered by Mr. Transmission.” Each center is independently owned, and both websites print the same warranty.

What is Mr. Transmission’s transmission warranty?

A major repair or rebuild is category 2: 6 or 12 months, not valid over 12 months or 12,000 miles, whichever occurs first, with a 14-day leak recheck. The repair order sets which. There is no lifetime transmission warranty, and it does not transfer when you sell.

Is the warranty good at any Mr. Transmission?

Only on its terms. Every franchisee must honor system warranties, but within 50 miles of the original shop you must go back there, and any claim needs that shop’s authorization and your receipt.

Is the Mr. Transmission Performance Check free?

The page says so, but its title reads “Free Performance Check With Repair,” and no page says what it costs if you decline the work. Ask first.

Does Mr. Transmission offer financing?

Not on its website or Milex’s. Each shop sets its own prices and payment options, so ask the shop and get any credit terms in writing.